Theodore Robinson (16 February 1866 – 4 October 1959) played first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in 10 matches between 1884 and 1894. He was born at Beaminster in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and died at

Backwell Backwell is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of North Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. In 2011 it had a population of 4,589. The village lies about southwest of Bristol, south of the A370 to West ...

Family and background

Robinson was a member of an entrepreneurial family who had interests in paper-making and printing in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and London and in a wide range of goods in

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. The family company of E. S. & A. Robinson owned a large printing and paper-bag manufacturing site at Bedminster in Bristol. The extensive Robinson family had estates at

Flax Bourton Flax Bourton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish, with a population of 715, is situated within the unitary authority of North Somerset, on the edge of Nailsea Moor on the A370 road south west of Bristol city centre. ...

and

, south of Bristol, and at the age of 13 in 1879, Theodore was part of a team of "Eleven Robinsons" that played a match against the Backwell Cricket Club at the Flax Bourton ground. This event was repeated in various forms until 1964 and included a match against an all

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team in 1891. The Eleven Robinsons consisted of Theodore and five of his brothers, augmented by five cousins, all descended from Edward Robinson and directly related to Elisha Smith Robinson, Theodore's most prosperous uncle. Apart from Theodore, two others of the Robinson Eleven graduated to first-class cricket: cousin Arthur played three matches for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, while Theodore's brother Crescens Robinson also played for Somerset.

Cricket career

Robinson played as a right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler for Somerset. In his first match in 1884, against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, he made 57 in a Somerset reply of 254 to a Hampshire total of 645, which was the second-highest score in first-class matches in England to that date. This remained his highest score. Between 1889 and 1891, he played in second-class matches for

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, but he reappeared for Somerset in occasional matches from 1892 to 1894, though with little success.

1908 Summer Olympics

Robinson competed at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

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. Robinson entered the men's double York round event in 1908, taking 7th place with 647 points.

After cricket

Theodore Robinson continued to live in Backwell, and he and his sister donated land in 1929 to the village for use as playing fields, with further donations in 1932 and 1945. There are several pictures of Theodore Robinson at the opening ceremony in 1929 and later on the Backwell Playing Fields website.

References

External links

* *
Theodore Robinson's profile at Sports Reference.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Theodore 1866 births 1959 deaths English cricketers Somerset cricketers People from Beaminster Cricketers from Dorset Archers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic archers for Great Britain British male archers